Contradictory destructive coloring that makes the Red River Pig the most well dressed pig in natur

Mondo Social Updated on 2024-01-29

Despite always appearing in a negative image, it cannot be denied that pigs are intelligent animals.

This pig also has some beauty - the red river pig (potamochoerus porcus), also known as the "tufted pig", is a wild African member of the pig family, distributed in the forests of Guinea and Congo, rarely found far from the rainforest.

With its striking red coat, the Red River Pig is the most colorful member of the pig family. Its vibrant fur is covered with a thin white mane that runs the entire length of its back, topped with thick, black legs and sturdy hind hooves.

Red River pigs live in small groups of about 4-20 animals. Each colony is led by a male wild boar who is responsible for the care of a group of females and their young.

Males repel their opponents by slamming their faces (males have bony protrusions on their faces), stabbing their noses with their noses, and whipping each other with their tails. Also ready for the pig to storm – to protect their families from leopards, spotted hyenas and pythons.

In groups, individuals communicate through creative grunts and screams. They doze off during the day and then forage for food at night. Like all pigs, red river pigs are omnivores and eat anything they can find.

Fruits, seeds, nuts, eggs, invertebrates, small reptiles, and carrion are ideal foods, as are human livestock and crops (e.g., goat cubs, sweet potatoes).

The clever Red River Hog herd will stalk the chimpanzee and pick up the fallen fruit;On the other hand, pulling from elephants' dung and searching for undigested seeds shows that they are very piggy.

In general, there is nothing too special about the behavior of the Red River Pigs, and it is more worthy of their appearance to be written and inked.

Tufts of long fringe-like hairs hang from the ears, adding a touch of style to its unconventional beauty. The whiskers protrude from the base of its long black nose, while its jet-black eyes have striking white markings around them.

These contrasting colors and fragments are biologically known as mixed colors – destructive coloration.

Destructive coloring (also known as melanging) is a type of camouflage that works by breaking the outline of an animal.

You see, the tawny toad (Podargus papuensis), whose silhouette is destroyed by feathers and eyes hidden in stripes, is an effective anti-predator adaptation.

As a way not to be seen, this seems paradoxical, since the destruction of the silhouette depends on high contrast, like the obvious color patch itself, the tassel swaying in the wind.

In 2006, a related study stated that destructive shading provides the best protection against predators when the pattern matches the brightness of the background – but even if the elements in the pattern do not match the background, the destructive pattern still reduces predation more than the non-destructive pattern and the unpatterned.

Destructive coloring also has a hidden benefit – hiding the eyes.

Just like red river pigs, many mammals, birds, frogs, snakes, etc., were the first to discover their round, black eyes, and as a result, many species have evolved to hide their eyes with destructive coloring blindfolds, or to form stripes above them. Contrast strongly so that it looks like it's just part of a dark area in the background.

Humans have been trying to learn Xi this camouflage, so there are all kinds of camouflage.

Various attempts to camouflage tanks, armored vehicles and building roofs with paint during the Second World War turned out to be a complete failure.

shapes, shines, shadows" make these "camouflaged" military vehicles clearly visible, since their silhouettes are not destroyed.

Although the bold contrasting color stripes, under ideal conditions, the background color matching combined with the anti-shading "is enough to make the animal completely ** against the ordinary background" You see, this Egyptian nightjar (Caprimulgus aegyptius), perched on the sand, protected by its color, immobility, and hidden shadows when facing the sun, completely blends into the background.

However, the vast majority of conditions are almost impossible to be ideal because they are constantly changing, and so is the light. Therefore, camouflage must break the perceptual continuous surface of the object and its contours.

The destructive coloring of animals works because of their specific living environment, behavior patterns, distance from opponents, and many other dimensions.

As for the camouflage uniforms of humans, it is feasible to become the king of the grass.

However, the effect of any pattern that destroys the silhouette of a soldier will vary depending on the light, depending on the weather and the height of the sun in the sky. And if you move from one terrain (grass) to another (sandy), you are completely exposed.

In conclusion, there is no single camouflage pattern that works on all terrain.

Finally, let's test everyone's eyes: in the picture above, the mother of the rock ptarmigan (lagopus muta) is carrying a few chicks?

The author thanks for your interest (-

List of high-quality authors

Related Pages